'Silver Linings Playbook' (U.S.)

***1/2 (out of four) Is Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone," "The Hunger Games") the best thing to happen to Hollywood in the last five years? It's possible. She's fantastic again in "Silver Linings Playbook" as Tiffany, who recently lost both her husband and her job. Tiffany's not quite stable but arguably more so than Pat (Bradley Cooper), who has just spent eight months in a psychiatric facility and is likely deluded about his chances to win back his wife. Movies are often populated with two characters supposedly making each other's lives better but actually seem like people that would never want anything to do with each other. Cooper and Lawrence finesse the rough edges of their developing friendship, so even when positive vibes frequently transition to animosity--Pat admits that he has no filter--it's clear that they'd rather take a minute and try again rather than bail. The crowd-pleasing "Silver Linings" is more raw (and a lot funnier) than David O. Russell's last film, "The Fighter." See it: 7 p.m. Oct. 23 ($16-$20), with Russell in attendance

***1/2 (out of four) Is Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone," "The Hunger Games") the best thing to happen to Hollywood in the last five years? It's possible. She's fantastic again in "Silver Linings Playbook" as Tiffany, who recently lost both her husband and her job. Tiffany's not quite stable but arguably more so than Pat (Bradley Cooper), who has just spent eight months in a psychiatric facility and is likely deluded about his chances to win back his wife. Movies are often populated with two characters supposedly making each other's lives better but actually seem like people that would never want anything to do with each other. Cooper and Lawrence finesse the rough edges of their developing friendship, so even when positive vibes frequently transition to animosity--Pat admits that he has no filter--it's clear that they'd rather take a minute and try again rather than bail. The crowd-pleasing "Silver Linings" is more raw (and a lot funnier) than David O. Russell's last film, "The Fighter." See it: 7 p.m. Oct. 23 ($16-$20), with Russell in attendance

***1/2 (out of four) Is Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone," "The Hunger Games") the best thing to happen to Hollywood in the last five years? It's possible. She's fantastic again in "Silver Linings Playbook" as Tiffany, who recently lost both her husband and her job. Tiffany's not quite stable but arguably more so than Pat (Bradley Cooper), who has just spent eight months in a psychiatric facility and is likely deluded about his chances to win back his wife. Movies are often populated with two characters supposedly making each other's lives better but actually seem like people that would never want anything to do with each other. Cooper and Lawrence finesse the rough edges of their developing friendship, so even when positive vibes frequently transition to animosity--Pat admits that he has no filter--it's clear that they'd rather take a minute and try again rather than bail. The crowd-pleasing "Silver Linings" is more raw (and a lot funnier) than David O. Russell's last film, "The Fighter." See it: 7 p.m. Oct. 23 ($16-$20), with Russell in attendance